WORKPLACE STRESS: HEALTH EPIDEMIC OF THE 21ST CENTURY

In 2013 Gallup announced 70% of the American workforce was disengaged, and the World Health Organization estimated workplace stress costing American businesses up to $300 billion a year. As we welcome 2016, both statistics are a harsh reality and each continue to rise. So much so that stress has been called the “health epidemic of the 21st century” by the World Health Organization. An epidemic that will be one of the most significant challenges businesses face over the next decade—a threat to engagement, productivity, retention and looming health care costs. - HuffingtonPost.com read more...

The climbing figures are hard to ignore. Nearly three-quarters of American workers surveyed in 2007 reported experiencing physical symptoms of stress due to work. According to statistics from the American Psychological Association (APA), a startling two-thirds of Americans say that work is a main source of stress in their lives – up nearly 15 percent from the those who ranked work stress at the top just a year before. Roughly 30 percent of workers surveyed reported “extreme” stress levels.

Whatever the root causes, stressed workers tend to be fatigued, prone to mistakes, injuries, and are more likely to be absent. And most significantly, they incur healthcare costs twice as high than for other employees. All tolled, the consequences of stress-related illnesses, from depression to heart disease, costs businesses an estimated $200 to $300 billion a year in lost productivity. - HealthAdvocate.com read more...

Workload 46%

People Issues 28%

Juggling Work/Personal Lives 20%

Lack of Job Security 6%

According to a survey of 800,000 workers in over 300 companies, the number of employees calling in sick because of stress tripled from 1996 to 2000. An estimated one million workers are absent every day due to stress. Unanticipated absenteeism is estimated to cost American companies $602.00/worker/year and the price tag for large employers could approach $3.5 million annually.- The American Institute of Stress www.stress.org read more...